Strike Witches: Heros' Return: Shirley's Story
by XDrakePhoenixX
Summary: The ultimate challenge awaits Shirley. Is she up for the task...?
1. Chapter 1

**STRIKE WITCHES: HEROS' RETURN: SHIRLEY'S STORY**

**Chapter One**

Water sprayed behind her as the witch sped across the ocean, mere feet above the waves. She blasted by her earth-bound friends as they watched her and monitored her speed. She was almost there. Pushing her Mustang strikers a bit faster, Shirley shattered the barrier with a sonic boom. This was the third time she had achieved speeds of Mach 1, the speed of sound. With a holler of triumph, she pushed even faster, willing herself to go beyond her goal. However, her magic was at its limit, and she slowed down reluctantly. Her friends were cheering for her.

"That was amazing Shirley-san!" Yoshika said. Lucchini was jumping up and down. Emily gave her a thumbs-up, and Lynne clapped for her.

"Thanks guys," Shirley said as she landed in the hangar. Docking on a support unit, she got out of her strikers and checked the engines. They were extremely hot, even with the customized cooling systems she had installed. "Guess I'm not gonna be able to do that too often," Shirley said to herself. She let the engines cool before checking everything else. Making sure everything was in top condition, she gave it a satisfied nod.

Shirley felt sad that her homeland Liberion had come under attack, but at the same time it gave her new strength. To defend her home was an honor and a new challenge. She was always up for a challenge, though she preferred it had something to do with speed. But this worked too, for it had a good cause. What surprised her with all that was going on, was that there was a warlock from her own country, which wasn't known for producing witches in the first place.

Drake Holt was his name, and he led the 501st as Marshal of the Strike Witches. At first she had her reservations about him. After all, she had never thought that a warlock could actually exist in the first place. But he had proved his mettle, both in his leadership and combat abilities. He had earned everyone's respect and gave it back as well. As she was lost in her thoughts, that particular person entered the hangar.

"I'm assuming it went well?" Drake asked, walking over to her.

"Indeed. Though I doubt I can pull that off often: it puts great strain on the engines," Shirley replied.

"I'd imagine it puts great strain on you too," Drake said. He put his hand on the striker, and then immediately took it off, crying out in pain.

"Careful, it's hot," Shirley said casually, switching tools.

"You could have told me that before I put my hand on it," Drake said.

"Well who would be stupid enough to think it was cold, especially after it was just used?" Drake scowled. "Watch the back talk. I outrank you, remember?" Shirley just laughed.

* * *

The day continued on, with nothing out of the ordinary. Shirley spent most of her time in the hangar, tinkering with her strikers. Lucchini joined her in the hangar, but spent most of the time sleeping, as she usually did. Shirley only stopped working on her strikers when the nighttime bell sounded, and the night witches entered the hangar to begin their patrol.

"Good luck you guys," she said as she put away her tools. Sanya nodded.

* * *

The next day, Shirley was awoken by the sirens.

_Neuroi? At this hour?_ she thought. Moving quickly, she pulled on a long shirt and dashed out of her room, just as the other witches were beginning to stir. She made it to the hangar before anyone else, jumping into her strikers and taking off.

"What's going on?" Shirley asked Sanya over the radio. She and the other night witches had just come back from their patrol.

"I'm not sure. I'm definitely picking up a Neuroi signature, but it's moving at speeds beyond any Neuroi we have encountered before. It seems to be making a direct course to the base. This is very strange," the night witch replied.

_So it's fast, huh? Let us see just how fast it is,_ Shirley thought. Pouring all her magic into her strikers, she blasted toward the east, where the Neuroi was inbound from. Within minutes she saw it, a tiny black speck in the sky. Then she blinked. When her eyes opened again, it was right in front of her. The alien shot past her like a bullet, missing her by inches.

"What the hell?!" Shirley gasped, as the Neuroi zoomed in on Pearl Harbor. Within seconds it was upon the base.

* * *

Drake had just walked into the command center that overlooked the entire base, when he saw the Neuroi. It flashed in towards the base and fired its beams. It hit the training yard, where half of it was soon ablaze. But as soon as it had came, it was gone.

"Contain that blaze!" Drake ordered. One of the new recruits, who's magic involved water, summoned a small rainstorm over the yard, where the fire was quickly put out. Where the beam had struck however, the equipment was beyond saving. "Everyone, return to base."

* * *

"What was that?" Drake demanded. He met Shirley and the night witches in the hangar.

"We don't know sir. The only thing we know is that it was a super-fast Neuroi," Sanya said. Drake growled in frustration. "I don't like this. That Neuroi will be back, and we have no way of knowing how to fight it," he said.

"I doubt it is able to move that fast all the time. You would need a lot of energy to sustain such speeds," Shirley said. Drake looked at her. "So you're suggesting that this Neuroi only displays such speed during an attack?" Shirley nodded.

"Hit and run tactics. Simple, yet effective. But that also means that it will be vulnerable after its attack. Shirley, you have the most experience when it comes to high-speed chases, so you'll lead this mission. You'll have Yoshika with you, who has the fastest striker. You two will remain on high alert until the Neuroi comes back. Follow it, and see if you can catch up to it. Report this to Yoshika," Drake said.

"Yes sir!" Shirley said.

* * *

Shirley looked for Yoshika, first checking the kitchens. Sure enough, the Fuso witch was hard at work making breakfast with her girlfriend and best friend, Lynne. Shirley approached them.

"Yo Lynne, can I steal Yoshika from you for a second?" she said. Lynne looked at her curiously. "Uh, sure," she replied. Shirley pulled Yoshika aside before speaking.

"Drake wants us to work together to deal with this new Neuroi. We are on high alert, so be ready at any moment to jump into your strikers. This thing is fast, so every second counts. Once we are in the air, I'll fill you in. Understood?" Shirley reported.

"Yes ma'am," Yoshika replied.

"Good. You can go back to Lynne now. Don't get into trouble," Shirley said, winking before she left. Yoshika blushed but otherwise said nothing.

_We're gonna need to be as fast as we can, but we also need to conserve our magic. How are we going to balance the two?_ Shirley thought as she wandered the base. As she did this she bumped into Sakamoto.

"Oh, sorry ma'am. I didn't see you there," she said. Sakamoto laughed lightly.

"You should pay more attention then. Wouldn't want to be caught off guard, now would we?"

"No. Hey, I have a question for you," Shirley said. Sakamoto raised an eyebrow. "I'm all ears."

"How can Yoshika and I keep up with this really fast Neuroi, yet still have energy to fight when it slows down?" Sakamoto thought for a moment.

"You would need a storing device, a magical battery of some sort that you can pour your magic into when not using it. There, when you need it in battle, you can draw on that stored magic without expending any in your body," she said.

"Great! Where can I get one?" Shirley asked.

"I don't know. I've heard of crystals being used to store magic, but they are only rumors. Why don't you check Drake's library? He might have a book or two that can help," Sakamoto said.

"Cool, thanks!" Shirley said. She then ran to Drake's office, which doubled as his library. The walls were lined with bookshelves, and each shelf was crammed with books. Not even bothering to knock, she opened the door. Drake was in the middle of a conversation with one of the ground crew captains, but looked up as Shirley entered.

"Shirley? What do you want?" he asked, dismissing the captain.

"Do you have any books about magic storage?" Shirley asked. Drake nodded, then pointed to a corner bookshelf.

"Top shelf. Knock yourself out. Just make sure you put them back where you found them, and in the condition they were originally in. It took me forever to find those," he replied.

"Thanks," Shirley said. She grabbed a dozen books from the top shelf and brought them to her room. Then she poured over them, looking for anything that would help. She opened one book to find it about crystals.

"So crystals can store magical energy. Interesting," Shirley said to herself. She found that one could indeed pour their magical energy into various crystals and draw from them. Certain crystals, like rubies or emeralds, were more powerful than others, like quartz and other common crystals. "Where am I going to get rubies and emeralds?" Shirley wondered. She highly doubted Drake would spend so much on an experiment. Deciding that quartz was going to be the crystal of choice, she searched for information on maximizing quartz's potential. By midnight however, she had found nothing, and was tired. Putting the books away, she crawled into bed and fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning she woke up and went straight back to the books, determined to find an answer to her problem. Yoshika eventually entered with Shirley's breakfast.

"What are you doing Shirley-san?" she asked, peering at the books.

"Trying to see how we can use crystals to give us the edge we need to fight this Neuroi," Shirley replied. She thanked Yoshika for the meal and started eating.

"How could crystals help?" Yoshika asked.

"First of all, this Neuroi is fast. Faster than me, and most likely faster than you. But my theory is that it can only sustain such speed for a short amount of time. The plan is to follow the Neuroi as fast as we can the moment we spot it on the radar. We follow it until it slows down, and then we take it down. The problem is magic consumption. We may have enough magic to chase the Neuroi down, but in doing so, we won't have any magic left to fight it. Or at least I won't. If we can make use of crystals and turn them into magical batteries, we may have the extra magic needed for that fight. Make sense?" Shirley explained.

"I think so. So what's the problem then?"

"The problem is that we don't have powerful enough crystals for the job, and we can't afford them either. Rubies and emeralds will cost us an arm and a leg. What we are forced to use is quartz. It's common enough. The sand on the beach is made of quartz and the like. But it has very little capacity for magic. For even a five minute fight, we would need over fifty pounds worth of sand. Not worth it. So I'm trying to find a way to increase the amount of magic quartz can handle. Want to help me with it?" Yoshika nodded. "Sure!"

The two of them poured over the books, looking for their answer, until Yoshika was dragged away by Sakamoto for training. It was a little after lunch when Shirley found something.

* * *

Eila was in her room shuffling around her rune tiles. She was surprised when Shirley entered her room. "Has my room become some sort of attraction now?" Eila snapped.

"Do you have any crystals I can borrow?"

"Crystals? Yeah, but what for?"

"An experiment," Shirley said. Eila looked at her dubiously, but pointed to her bedside drawer. "In there." Shirley looked through the drawer and picked out just about all the crystals there.

"Hey! I didn't say you could borrow _all_ of them!" Eila shouted.

"Sorry, I kind of need them. I'll return them when I'm done, I promise!" Shirley said on her way out.

Shirley went to the hangar and placed the crystals on her workbench. Grabbing some copper wire, a bunch of tools, and some more scrap metal, she got to work. She wound the copper wire around a set of amethyst crystals and made what looked like batteries out of them. When she was done with that, she brought them to her strikers and rerouted the magical engines to include the batteries. She finished it off by pouring as much magic as she could comfortably handle into the batteries. It unfortunately wasn't as much as she would have liked, but it was enough for now.

"There, that should do it," Shirley said, wiping her brow.

"That should do what Shirley?" a voice said from above. Shirley looked up to see Lucchini lounging on a rafter.

"Lucchini! I didn't see you there. I'm just working on a little project, that's all," she said. Lucchini jumped down and inspected the modifications on Shirley's strikers. "What are they?" she asked.

"Batteries. You pour your magic into them when you aren't using it, and you can take magic from them when you need it," Shirley replied.

"Cool!" Lucchini said.

"Yeah. Say, what time is it?"

"How should I know? I just woke up," Lucchini said, laughing. The two of them went to find someone who knew the time.

* * *

Later in the evening, Shirley returned to Drake's office. "So, how is your little experiment going?" Drake asked.

"Good. I have yet to test it though," Shirley replied. Drake raised an eyebrow. "Better get on top of that then. The last thing we need is something bad to happen during battle," he said.

"They should be stable enough, I wired it to the strikers in a way that if something malfunctions with the batteries, the strikers will eject them from the system. Since I'm only using amethyst, it wouldn't be a total loss."

"To us anyway. Next time you head to the market, find Eila some new crystals. She was griping about it to me earlier," Drake said. Shirley laughed guiltily. "Will do sir." Just then, Yoshika and Lynne walked in.

"Ah good, you two are just in time. Thank you Shirley, that will be all," Drake said, dismissing her. Shirley nodded and left. She thought about what Drake had said.

_It's true. I need to test how the batteries work in flight before using them in combat,_ she thought. Returning to the hangar, she equipped her strikers and took off as quietly as her Merlin engines would allow her. When she gained enough altitude, she engaged the batteries. They lit up with magical energy, casting a violet glow on her strikers. She felt a surge of energy, and without meaning to, shattered the sound barrier for the fourth time. This time, she was able to sustain that speed for over several minutes. But the batteries had their limits too, and were soon depleted. Shirley returned to the hangar. Minna was there waiting for her.

"Might I suggest testing your experiment during the day?" she said, as Shirley landed.

"Sorry ma'am," she replied.

"I'll let you off this time. Anyway, how did it go? Drake filled me in on what you were doing," Minna said.

"It went okay. The batteries worked, but are not powerful enough for what we need," Shirley answered.

"I see. Well, even if they are not powerful enough, they are safe to use and do give an advantage, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then you have permission to install these batteries on Yoshika's strikers as well as yours," Minna said. Shirley looked at her. "Really?"

"Really. But Drake also warns you not to tinker with the engines of the Shinden-kai. Just do what you need to do to install the batteries, and just that. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am."

* * *

Shirley immediately got to work on Yoshika's strikers. Installing them on a jet striker was a bit tricky, but she got the work done without a hitch. All the while, she was fighting the urge to take apart and examine the striker. By the time she was done, it was past midnight. Drowsily putting away her tools, she slumped her way to her room and fell into bed.

* * *

Shirley awoke to Yoshika shaking her.

"Shirley-san, Shirley-san, wake up!" Yoshika said.

"Wha-what's going on?" Shirley asked groggily.

"The Neuroi has been detected on the radar!"


	2. Chapter 2

**STRIKE WITCHES: HEROS' RETURN: SHIRLEY'S STORY**

**Chapter Two**

Shirley and Yoshika rushed to their strikers and took off into the morning sky. By the time they had reached altitude, they could see the Neuroi coming in fast. It sped by them.

"Now! With as much speed you can muster!" Shirley shouted. Both of them darted after the Neuroi, simultaneously breaking the sound barrier. The gap of speed between the witches and the Neuroi closed tremendously, but still the Neuroi sped away from them. Yoshika was flying faster than Shirley, which did not please the Liberion witch too much. She let it go though, realizing there were more important matters. Several minutes and dozens of miles went by, until Shirley's theory was correct: the Neuroi began to slow down. Shirley was beginning to tire though. _Just a bit closer..._ she thought. Then they were in range.

"Activate the batteries!" The crystals embedded in their strikers began to glow as magic poured from them into the witches. Shirley felt a rush of energy as the batteries did their work. "Now! Attack now!" she said, firing her rifle. Yoshika dived in and fired with her own gun. Bullets raked across the creature's hide, and it screeched. It fired back, forcing Shirley and Yoshika to raise their shields. They circled around the Neuroi, blocking its path. Screeching, it swerved upward to avoid colliding with the witches. Just as they were about to pursue the Neuroi further however, something happened. With pop and the sound of shattered glass the crystal batteries on Shirley's strikers broke, their glittering fragments falling into the sea. At the same time, Shirley dropped several hundred feet, barely having the energy to fly.

"Shirley-san!" Yoshika cried out, diving to catch her friend. The Neuroi, sensing the witches' weakness, prepared to fire. But the beam that emitted from it was weak, and dissipated before reaching them. Out of energy as well, the Neuroi fled, disappearing into the clouds. "Let's return to base," Shirley said grimly.

Shirley made it back to base with Yoshika's help, and shuffled her way to Drake's office. He was already waiting for her.

"Your fatigue says it all. I assume the Neuroi escaped then?" he said. Shirley nodded.

"Well, get some rest. Even though you didn't defeat the enemy, you got us one step closer to doing so. We'll figure out what went wrong tomorrow," Drake said kindly. Shirley nodded again, exhausted. She went to her bedroom and plopped onto her bed, asleep instantly.

The next day saw Shirley back in the books. She combed through them, looking for what she had missed. "Those batteries should have worked," she said to herself. "Why did they give out when we needed them most? And why didn't Yoshika's give out?" Just then, Drake walked in.

"So, what exactly happened yesterday?" he asked, perching on one of the bed posts.

"I don't know exactly. I checked the batteries before and after installing them, and nothing seemed wrong. They worked fine at first, and we caught up to the Neuroi. Just as we were about to finish it off though, the crystals on my strikers shattered. We would have been goners if the Neuroi wasn't out of energy as well," Shirley reported.

"I'd suggest finding out what went wrong then. We can't use these batteries if they are not fit for battle. What intrigues me though, is your report of the Neuroi losing energy. As far as we've known, the Neuroi have never had to rest, and have been able to sustain a battle far longer than we can. What makes this Neuroi different, if it's even different at all? These are things I will have to get a research team together to find out," Drake mused. Shirley nodded.

Lucchini joined Shirley as she continued her work. She got bored easily, but enjoyed helping the older girl nevertheless. Eventually Lucchini curled up in Shirley's lap like a kitten and fell asleep. For hours Shirley read through the books. Later in the day Yoshika and Lynne joined her to help, though their attention was mostly fixed on each other than the subject at hand.

"Maybe they shattered because the added magic was too much for the strikers?" Lynne wondered. Shirley looked up.

"That could be it. Hm... it is possible that when I activated the batteries, the added power was too much for the magical engines to handle, and the limiter kicked in. That would force the magic back into the batteries, with an explosive result," Shirley mused.

"So the problem isn't in the batteries..." Yoshika began.

"...But in the strikers themselves," Shirley finished. She got up and ran out of her room, much to the confusion of the three younger girls. Dashing to Drake's office, she found it empty. Then she checked the command center. Sure enough, Drake was going over plans with a logistics team.

"Found the problem?" he asked as she approached. She stopped, out of breath.

"Y-yes. It wasn't the batteries themselves: they worked fine. It was my striker unit. It wasn't powerful enough to handle the extra magic," she said.

"That would make sense. I'll see what I can do about ordering more powerful engines for the Mustang," Drake said. Shirley shook her head. "No, that won't be enough. I need a jet striker."

"A jet striker? I do not trust them enough to have anyone equip them. And before you mention Yoshika and her group, remember that Yoshika has extraordinary power, and the other three still have enough magical potency to equip the jet strikers safely," Drake said.

"Are you saying I'm incompetent?" Shirley asked.

"No. I'm saying that you are nineteen, Shirley. Your career as a witch is nearing its end. As a result, your magical power is declining. The risk of you getting hurt while equipped with a jet striker is too great, I won't take it."

"But with the jet striker, I could take down this super-fast Neuroi!"

"I'm not going to sacrifice a witch to take out one Neuroi. You're too valuable an asset, even if your magic is declining. My decision is final. You will not equip a jet striker. Do I make myself clear?" Drake said, an edge of warning in his voice. Shirley fumed inside, but knew she couldn't win against him.

"Understood, sir," Shirley said flatly.

"Good. Now, I'll order an upgrade for your strikers, and hopefully that will give you the extra power you need. Until then, Yoshika and her flight will deal with the Neuroi," Drake said. Shirley knew when she was being dismissed, so she left without a word.

"The nerve of him! Who does he think he is to think my magic isn't good enough?" Shirley muttered under her breath.

"Having issues?" a voice said behind her. She turned around to see Barkhorn.

"You heard, huh?"

"I heard enough. Jet strikers are still in the experimental phase, even if some of the models are not. I learned the hard way how dangerous they can be. You warned me yourself about their dangers. Don't risk your life just to sate your need for speed," Barkhorn said. Shirley glared at her.

"You think that's what this is about? That I want a jet striker just so I can be the fastest witch again?" she growled.

"I know you too well Shirley. Even if you are dedicated to taking out that Neuroi, a part of you will always want to be the one that does the deed, and you will always want to be the fastest."

"So what if that's true? So what if I want to be the fastest witch again? This is the only way we are going to defeat this Neuroi and protect my country! Sure, Yoshika's fast in the Shinden-kai. But she's not fast enough. I would be," Shirley said.

"And you call me stubborn? You don't always have to be the fastest! I know you are worried about your homeland, and I know how that feels. But let Miyafuji and her group take care of this. You've proved the Neuroi will slow down, and you've proved your crystal batteries give an edge to jet strikers. All they need is to stay with it long enough for it to slow down. Then it will be over. You've done enough," Barkhorn shot back.

"But-"

"That's enough," Minna said. She walked over to them and gave Shirley a serious look.

"Yoshika's flight will deal with the Neuroi. You have been given orders, Squadron Leader Yeager. You should follow them," she said.

"Yes ma'am," Shirley said. Drake was scary enough, but Shirley knew not to cross Minna.

"Good. As you were," Minna said.

The next day, the Neuroi appeared on the radar again. Yoshika and her group flew up to meet it. A while later, they caught up to it.

"Engage!" Perrine ordered. Yoshika flew in with Emily right behind her. Lynne was the first to fire with an armor-piercing round, which blasted the skin away from the beast. Emily and Yoshika fired away at the wound, opening it further. Perrine fired when the two were out of the way. In no time, they found and destroyed the core.

"Core destruction confirmed, returning to base," Perrine reported. They returned home.

"We did it Shirley! All thanks to you," Yoshika said cheerfully, once they returned.

"Good job Yoshika! I knew you could do it," Shirley said, smiling slightly. She couldn't help but feel happy around Yoshika.

_There's just something about that girl that makes you smile,_ she thought, silently laughing.

"Congratulations, Emily, Yoshika, Lynne, and Perrine. A job well done, I must say," Drake said, walking into the hangar.

"And a special thanks to you, Shirley. Without your research, this would have been impossible," he continued.

"Thank you," Shirley said neutrally. She was still angry over his refusal to give her a jet striker.

_Calm yourself Yeager. The enemy has been neutralized, you have no reason to be angry,_ Drake said in her head.

_Maybe. But something tells me that was just a taste of what's to come, _Shirley replied. She then left the hangar, which surprised the witches there.

** _If I'm correct, that Neuroi was only a drone,_ Shirley thought, as she walked through the halls. _A powerful one, granted. But a drone nevertheless._**


	3. Chapter 3

**STRIKE WITCHES: HEROS' RETURN: SHIRLEY'S STORY**

**Chapter Three**

Shirley returned to her room, and poured over her books once more.

"I have to find a way to make a jet striker work for me," she said to herself. She flipped a page and found a picture of a large ruby. Under that picture were its magical properties.

"Increases magical potency?" Shirley read, her eyes widening. Suddenly, a boom sounded from outside. Shirley rushed to the window, and saw a black dot in the sky, and one of the ships anchored at the harbor was ablaze.

"I was right," Shirley whispered in dread. She went back to the book, determined to learn everything she could about the qualities of rubies.

Meanwhile, Drake was in the command room with Minna and Sakamoto.

"Another hyper-fast Neuroi has attacked. It appears to be the same model of the previous one. Either the Neuroi have developed a new model, or these are simply drones of a capital ship," Drake said.

"You said Shirley believes it's the latter, correct?" Minna asked. Drake nodded.

"Then we need to find the capital ship and destroy it, fast. Before they decide to attack as a group," Sakamoto said.

"You're right. A large group of these drones at attack speed will wipe out the entire base before we would even have a chance to strike. I'm going to send out everyone available. We need to find that capital ship now," Drake replied. He sent out a notice over the radio, and soon almost every witch had taken off, each assigned to their own special scout route.

Drake sat down, exhausted from high use of magic.

"Hopefully, that will do the trick," he said.

Yoshika, Lynne, Emily, and Perrine were in the air, scouting to the east. While Emily and Perrine had their eyes peeled for signs of the enemy, Lynne and Yoshika had their attentions on each other.

"Would you two please focus on the mission at hand?" Perrine said somewhat crossly.

"Relax Perrine, let them enjoy themselves," Emily said, flying in a lounging manner, with her hands placed behind her head and her back to the sea.

"It's not that I don't want them to be happy together, I'm glad for them. I just wish there was a little more discipline with those two," Perrine replied.

"You're starting to sound like Barkhorn with the discipline talk."

"So? She has a point, we need to take things more seriously. This isn't a game."

"That's true. But be that as it may, there is a virtue in being relaxed and playful. Look at Hartmann. She's about as carefree as you can get, yet when it matters most, she's an excellent fighter." Perrine was silent for a moment.

"I suppose you are right. There is also the fact that Miyafuji's rebellious nature often saves the day," she said.

"There you go! All you need to do is relax and take things into perspective. You'll do fine," Emily said, beaming. She looked up (or rather, down) and saw movement in the distance.

"Enemy contact!" she said, flipping right-side up and loading her gun. The other three girls did the same. Perrine took the lead, with Lynne behind her, then Yoshika, then Emily. The enemy was upon them in seconds. With their crystal-enhanced strikers however, the group managed to stay relatively on par with the Neuroi. Within minutes, they weakened and destroyed the drone. However, their respite was painfully short. In the distance - which quickly closed - not one, but five drones sped their way to the base. They didn't even bother shooting at the witches as they tore by.

"After them!" Perrine shouted, speeding towards the leader of the pack. The others followed suit. They pursued the pack, putting all their magic into speed. Try as the might though, they could not destroy their targets, for the Neuroi were dodging their attacks and staying at the very edge of the witches' firing range.

In the end, over three dozen drones attacked Pearl Harbor. The witches managed to repel most of the attacks, yet by the end of the battle, three battleships and a carrier were obliterated.

"WHERE IS THAT DAMNED CAPITAL SHIP!?" Drake roared at the scouts through the radio, as the fighting witches returned from battle.

"We don't know yet, sir. We are doing out best, please be patient," Major Grandone replied, though it was obvious she shared Drake's frustration.

"Very well. But hurry. The longer we don't know its location, the more damage that Neuroi will do," Drake said. He then cut the transmission. Leaving the room, he went to the dormitories, where he entered Eila's room. She was watching Sanya sleep.

"Wake up Sanya," Drake said, tapping the night-witch's shoulder. She awoke with a jolt.

"What do you think you're doing?" Eila said crossly.

"Doing my job," Drake snapped back.

"What's wrong Drake?" Sanya asked sleepily.

"First, you need to wake up. I'm sorry, but it's important. Second, I need you outside with the scouts. We need to find the source of these drones, now. Your magic will help greatly," Drake said. Sanya stood up, and with Eila's help, got dressed. Drake waited impatiently. Once Sanya was dressed, she and Eila followed Drake to the hangar.

"Head to the east. That's where most of them are coming from. You'll be looking for a very powerful Neuroi signature. Once you find it, report its position to the base at once. Am I clear?" Drake said, once Eila and Sanya were in the air.

"Yes sir," they replied.

Meanwhile, Shirley just finished the book on rubies. Groaning in exhaustion and boredom, she flopped on her bed.

_If I can get a hold of some rubies, I'll have enough magical power to equip a jet striker safely. Then I can finish this!_ she thought. Quietly leaving her room, she made her way to Drake's office. She figured that would be the most likely of places to find at least one ruby. Peeking around the door to make sure Drake wasn't inside, she crept her way into the room. Quickly searching the room, she saw behind a pedestal behind Drake's chair. Set in the middle of it, were a series of baseball sized rubies.

"Damn, I wonder what other treasures he has hidden here," Shirley whispered to herself.

"More than you can carry out, I assure you."


	4. Chapter 4

**STRIKE WITCHES: HEROS' RETURN: SHIRLEY'S STORY**

**Chapter Four**

Shirley turned around to see Drake, who had a face of thunder.

"Let me through," she said, barely keeping her own anger in check.

"And why should I do that? What you are doing is called stealing."

"For a good cause! Even if the scouts do find the Neuroi, how are they going to catch up with it? If there is one thing we know about the Neuroi, is that drones are merely an echo of their capital ship. This thing is going to be fast, even for Yoshika and her crystal-enhanced strikers. With my power, I can push a jet striker beyond its limits, to a point where I can keep up with the Neuroi and destroy it!"

"I thought I already told you. You are not using a jet striker, under any circumstances. My word is law. Yet you choose to defy it?"

"Why are you so against jet strikers?!" Shirley said, her temper flaring.

"Because," Drake said, with a face of stone, "Commander Thatch died while wearing a jet striker." Shirley's anger evaporated almost instantly.

"Oh my god. I am so sorry. I never knew," she said. Drake sighed.

"I originally gave April the jet striker so she would be safer. I intended to get Emily one too. After all, the reports on that particular model - the Me 262 V2 - said they were stable. Little did I know that they were only slightly more stable than the Me 262 V1. The increase was in fact minuscule. But I was careless. When April tested the striker, she performed exceedingly well. She was a powerful witch, you see. No where near as powerful as Yoshika, granted. But she was still above most witches. So she could safely equip the striker without worrying about overextending herself," Drake said.

"If she could safely equip the striker, then what happened?" Shirley asked.

"The striker happened. It was too unstable for combat. The battle that Yoshika was in before we arrived here was the only time April used the jet striker in combat. That was where my caution backfired on me. I didn't want her to use it unless she was going up against a really tough opponent, where she would need the extra power. As a result, we never gave it a combat test.

When April pulled a high-G turn to avoid one of the Neuroi's beams, the engines gave out. While she was struggling to restart the engines, she... you know," Drake continued, trailing off.

"I see," Shirley said quietly. Drake looked at her.

"That is why I don't trust jet strikers. One day they'll be stable enough to use safely. But until that day happens, I only trust the most powerful witches to use the most stable of jet strikers. The Shinden-kai was pretty much tailored for Yoshika. It is like an extension of her body. As a result, she'll have very few mishaps with it. The P-80 Shooting Star is very stable for a jet striker, having been through vigorous testing at my request. Emily will be safe. As for Perrine and Lynne, the Gloster Meteor went through similar testing, again at my request. If there was a jet striker that was stable enough for you to use, I would let you. But since there is not, I don't want to make the same mistake I did before. Does that make sense?" he said. Shirley nodded.

"Good. Now, put the rubies back where they were. I have them there for a very good reason, and they should not leave that pedestal," Drake said. Shirley gently placed back the handful of rubies she had picked up.

"Thank you. I will let this slide, but only once. Next time this happens, I will deal out punishment. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir," Shirley replied.

"Good. Dismissed," Drake said. Shirley walked by him and left the office.

_Now I understand his reluctance to use jet strikers,_ Shirley thought. She sat on her bed, looking at the book she had left open earlier. The picture of the ruby still drew her in. Was she really willing to risk life and limb to destroy one Neuroi? Now that she thought it over, she realized she didn't want to make such a sacrifice.

_I can't throw away my life like that, _she thought. _I have a home to protect, and I can't protect it while dead._ Shirley flopped on the bed, deep in thought. The threat of the capital ship still persisted, with no real way to deal with it. Suddenly, the base's PA system turned on.

"Attention, the location of the capital ship has been discovered. I need all combat-ready witches headed there immediately. That is all." Shirley was still for a moment. Then she knew what she needed to do.

"Drake!" Shirley called out, dashing back to the office. She caught up to him just after he left the hallway leading to his office.

"Shirley? What now?" Drake said, his voice still sharper than usual.

"I know what to do! But I need your help," Shirley replied. Drake looked at her.

"Go on."

"What if you were to channel your magic into me, like you did with Yoshika? Wouldn't that give me the power I need, at least for the time needed?" Shirley asked.

"That's ridiculous, how could that possibly-" Drake started. Then he stopped.

"Wait a minute... that could work!" he said.

"If I created a link between us, one that would transfer magic from me to you, that could possibly give you enough magic to equip a jet striker safely. But if I make a link between you and Yoshika... you would have more than enough power," he mused. Drake was still for a moment, and it took a minute for Shirley to realize he was summoning Yoshika with his magic. Within minutes Yoshika arrived, out of breath.

"Okay, we need to do this quick. Link hands with me and each other, this requires skin contact," Drake ordered. Yoshika and Shirley did as they were asked, and as Drake began to cast his spell, a pentacle formed below them. The two witches waited as Drake recited his spell, a long and complex series of words neither of them understood. Soon, Drake reached a crescendo, and the spell ended. Shirley felt as if floodgates had been broken inside of her, and magic was rushing in.

_So much power!_ Shirley thought in awe.

"I never knew you had this much power Yoshika! This feels amazing!" she said. Yoshika blushed under the compliment.

"Okay, you two are linked. The spell will only last so long though, so get in, destroy the Neuroi, and get out fast. Shirley, for this one time I will allow you to borrow Yoshika's Shinden-kai. Don't destroy it. Understood?" Drake said.

"Yes sir," Shirley replied.

"Good. Now, move out!"

Shirley rushed to the hangar. Yoshika's magical energy coursed through her veins, it felt like she was on fire, minus the pain. Jumping into the Shinden-kai, she started the engines and took off. Pumping everything she had into speed, she obliterated the sound barrier. Drunk with excitement and the thrill of supersonic speed, she almost forgot her mission. Almost. Then she saw in the distance a massive Neuroi. It was speeding towards the base, with hundreds of drones surrounding it.

"Looks like I'm just in time!" Shirley shouted. She dived upon the enemy, gun blazing. The cannon that came along with the Shinden-kai would have jammed from the high speed if it weren't for Shirley's magic. She barreled through the drones, smashing many of them with her raised shield. Then she turned around sharply, her strikers and body screaming in protest. Coming out of it unharmed however, she trained her cannon on the main ship and fired. The Neuroi squealed, and sent several of its drones after its assailant. Shirley dispatched them easily though, thanks to the cannon. Circling around the Neuroi, she fired again. This time, there was no escape. Or so she thought. Without warning, the Neuroi jerked to the side, avoiding the deadly rounds. "No!" Shirley said, gritting her teeth. She hounded the Neuroi, matching its ever move. However, each time she lined up and fired, the alien would simply move out of the way, wasting precious time and ammunition. Shirley was growing desperate. But at the same time, she had the grim satisfaction that her enemy could not keep this up forever. Soon enough, the Neuroi began to tire. Shirley pointed her cannon for the final time, and fired. The cannon rounds hit dead-center, and the Neuroi exploded.

"YES!" Shirley shouted, victorious. She went to return to base... only to drop several hundred feet. Without warning, her connection to Yoshika ended, and the level of magic consumption was too much for the Liberion witch. She dropped several more hundred feet, then fainted.

"Shirley-san!" Yoshika cried out. Shirley awoke with a groan.

"Ugh, where am I?" she asked.

"In the infirmary. You're lucky it's that and not the morgue," Drake's voice said. Shirley turned to see him beside Yoshika, who was hard at work on a healing spell.

"What happened?"

"Your connection to Yoshika's magic expired before you returned to base. As a result, you plunged into the sea. You have been out for a week. Lucky for you, Yoshika is a damn good healer," Drake said. Shirley sighed. "At least the Neuroi is gone."

"Indeed. Your last victory against them, I'm afraid."

"What?" Shirley said, sitting bolt upright. Yoshika had to force her back down before she hurt herself.

"When your connection to Yoshika expired, the jet strikers drew upon the only source available: you. They took in so much, your natural limiter kicked in. In other words, you burned up your magic. You are no longer a witch. I'm sorry," Drake explained. Numbness crept across Shirley's body.

"Does that mean I am no longer part of the 501st?"

"Military law dictates that you are no longer an active member, so yes. However, I pulled some strings. For your bravery and determination, you have been rewarded with being an honorary member of the 501st Joint Fighter Wing. Congratulations," Drake said. Shirley smiled.

"You're not rid of me yet," she said with a smirk. Drake laughed.

"No, I guess not," he said.

Later that night, Shirley was released from the hospital and returned to her dormitory. Looking over the books that remained on her bed, Shirley remembered that she promised to return them. So she did, to Drake's relief. "Don't want to lose these," he said. Shirley returned to her room, exhausted but happy.

"I did it. I protected my home. Now, I can leave it to the others. I've experienced Yoshika's power first hand. I have no doubt, that she will be the one to rid the world of the Neuroi, once and for all."

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


End file.
